Recently, the Lafayette Parish School System Transportation Department purchased two software suites to increase the efficiency and safety of its operations. Versatrans, sold by Tyler Technologies, is a very robust fleet management software suite, and Issuetrak assists staff in managing issues raised by parents.
In conjunction with the purchase and installation of Versatrans, every bus owned by the Lafayette Parish School System fleet is being equipped with GPS tracking services. This will allow the district to monitor every driver in real time. When fully implemented, this feature will also allow the system to notify parents if their child’s bus will be late and send them an updated ETA. The routing software’s more accurate mapping, speed zone, and traffic pattern information will lead to more efficient bus routes, shorter rides for students, and reduced fuel consumption, all of which will be essential in the coming year as school zones shift and Schools of Choice programs move. Finally, the software manages fleet maintenance and allows the district to verify the maintenance status of any bus in the fleet.
Issuetrak helps Transportation staff to address and resolve parents’ concerns. When a parent calls the department with the concern, it is logged into Issuetrak where it is categorized and assigned to district staff. The time it takes to resolve an issue as well as the nature of the resolution is all documented in the system. Companies such as Verizon, Microsoft, UPS, and FedEx use Issuetrak.
“Overall, this software will make our bus fleet safer and more efficient, and it also will allow Transportation staff to communicate address the concerns of parents in a more efficient and timely manner,” said Transportation Director Damon Evans.